Abduction walking splint



'- w. A. CRAIG 2,906,261

ABDUCTION WALKING SPLINT Sept. 29, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 22, 1957 INVENTOR. WILUAM A.C lamev ATT QMEY-S Sept. 29, 1959 w. A. CRAIG ABDUCTION WALKING SPLINT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 22, 1957 INVENTOR. WILIJAM A. Cama- 2 m 23m ATTORNEYS :Another abduction splint,

UnitedStates Patent 2,906,261 ABDUCTION WALKING SPLINT William A. Craig, Whittier, Calif. Application November 22, .1957, Serial No. 698,119

8 Claims. (Cl. 128-80) This invention relates generally to walking splints or related apparatus for correcting congenital and other disorders of the .hip in childhood.

"produce another problem, that is, the matter of permitting sufficient freedom of physical activity while still ad vancing the necessary corrective action.

Most usually, the splint used in congenital dislocation and dysplasia problems is one known as a Poinsettia bar. Thisis rigidly fixed to the shoes and is not priirnarily a walking splint.. Rather, it is designed for use as a so-called night splint, that is, one which is worn by the child while he is sleeping, for the purpose of maintaining "abpredetermined separation of the legs to produce the thechild is at rest.

desired corrective action, ,duri ng the night hours, while v v whichca'n be used as awalkin-g splint, is one, which is fashioned simply by joining twiochahnels of aluminum which strap to the inner side of the patientfsleg'. Yet another walking splint is a bar,

generallytm ade of stainless steel or the like, which is bent to conform to the inside of the leg, and which is fastened to the legs through the medium of thigh culfs.

While this splint is alleged to be satisfactory for use as a walking splint, it is exceedingly difiicult to envision nor- 'mal walking, considering the fact that the splint involves the use of a rigid bar extending from one ankle up to the crotch and down to the other ankle. Even in instances in which the patient might attempt to walk while wearing a splint of this type, there is reason to believe that there will be an excessive amount of friction from the leg and thigh cuffs during ambulation.

These constitute, so far as is known, the splints which are in conventional use today. in situations of the char- A further object is to provide a walking splint of the character described which, though having all the functional mobility described above, will be so designed that Weight on the hip is always borne in the protective, abducted position.

Yet another object is to provide a walking splint which will maintain a wide separation of the legs, while at the same time allowing for a normal range of hip flexure If and extension.

, Still another object is to provide a splint which will be of the between-shoe type, will be so designed as to allow for ankle motion, and at the same time will limit certain rotational movements of the leg while enof the splint; and

couraging others, in a manner that will cause it to uniquely but with high efliciency discharge its intended function of correcting of childhood hip disorders. H Y A furtherobject is to so form the splint that the between-shoe distance can be swiftly and easily adjusted, with readjustments being effected whenever desired all without disturbance of the rotational or pivotal movements referred to above. 1

Other objects will appear from the following descrip tion, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designatelike parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a walking splint of the type described;

' Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the splint, the dotted lines showing different positions to which the shoes may move from their normal, full line position;

Figure. 3 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view substantially on line 3--3 of Figure 2, showing one of the shoes in its normal position in full lines, and in different positions to which it may be swung in an up-and-down direction, in dotted lines; i v

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on the same scale as Figure 3 taken substantially On line 44 of Figure 3, with the shoe being shown in full and dotted lines in its normal and in a forwardly swungposition of adjustment to which it is movable during normal use Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, exploded perspective view of one end of the splint with the shoe removed.

Referringto the drawing in detail, the walking splint constituting the present inventionincludes apair of right andleft corrective shoes which in a typical embodiment .ofthe invention would be identically but oppositely constructed. This, of course, is not necessarily true in every instance, since the particular disorder may be such that one shoe, might, perhaps, be built up or shaped differ,-

entIy from the other.

In any event, the left shoe has been designated at 10 "and the right shoe at 12, and designated generally at 14 is a connecting assembly extending between the shoes '3 and 5, a connecting bracket 16, formed of rigid bar material, has a downwardly offset, flat outer end portion 18 which is fixedly secured to the shoe by nails 20 'or equivalent fastening elements, passing through spaced openings 22 of said outer end portion. Outer end portion 18 is snugly engaged in and fills a shallow recess 24 opening laterally inwardly as shown in Figure 3, formed in the top surface of a built-up sole 26 of the shoe. The

intermediate portion 27 of bracket 16 is inclined in a direction upwardly from outer end portion 18, and thus merges into an upwardly offset inner end portion 28, the inner end surface of which is bluntly pointed in a manner shown to particular advantage in Figure 5, producing at the inner end of the portion 28 a first edge 30 disposed at an obtuse angle to a second edge 32; Edge 30 extends at an angle of 10 degrees to a line A shown in Figure 5 and perpendicular to the longitudinal median line of bracket 16. Edge 32 is at an angle of 45 degrees to said line A. The edges constitute abutments orstops in a manner to be described in full detail hereinafter.

Substantially centrally disposed in the inner end portion 28 is an aperture 34, receiving a connecting screw 36 that extends throughan aperture 37 of a connector block 38 of elongated, rectangular configuration. Block 38 has a slot 40 opening upon the outer end and upon the opposite side surfaces of the block, said slot 40 being adapted to snugly receive the inner end portion 38 as clearly shown in Figure 3. The apertures 37 of the block 38 open into the slot 40, and thus, on extension of the portion 28 into the slot, the screw 36 is extended through the registering apertures 34,37, being threadedly engaged in the lower one of the apertures 37 (see Figure 3).

The bracket'16, andihence the shoe, is thus connected to the block 38' for pivotal movement about the axis definedi'by the screw 36, this being a first axis about which the shoe is swingable.

It may be noted from Figure 3 that the upper 39 of each shoe is tilted laterally inwardly, when. the shoe is disposed in contact with a horizontal surface, that is,,in its full line position of Figure 3. In other words, the sole 26 is sofbuilt up as to have a top surface that is transversely tilted; to decline in a direction laterally inwardly of the shoe. Again, this particular disposition of the upperdmay be variedin a particular case, but in a typical instance, such as that shown, the construction results in the outer end portion 18 being inclined slightly out of the horizontal, while portion 28is in a horizontal plane, when the shoe is in contact with thehorizontal support surface.

As shown in Figure 3 and in Figure block 38 at its inner end has a second or inner slot 42. Slot 42 opens upon the inner extremity of block 38, and upon the top and bottom surfaces of the block, that is, the slot 42 is disposed in a plane normal to the plane 40. I Extending at its outer end into slot 42 is an elongated bar member 44, having an opening 46 registering with openings 48 of block 38 to receive a connecting screw 50the length of which is perpendicular or normal to that of screw. 36. A second bar member 52 extends in longitudinally contactingrelation to member 44,.and at one 'end'has a 'keeper'or guide-54 in whichmem'ber 44.slides. An elongated, longitudinal slot 56-of member 52 registers with a pair of longitudinally spaced openings '57 of member 44 (Figuire 2) and extendingthrough the registering'slot and openings 56, 57 are bolts 58 carrying wing nuts '60. Thus, on loosening of the wing. nuts, the-bar members 52, 44 can be relatively longitudinally adjusted, thus to extendthe. overall length-of. the connector assem bly 14. Members 44,. 52 together constitute an elongated, straight connector bar. generally designated'61, and adjustable as to length in the manner previously described herein.

It willf-be seen that a. between-shoe walking splint 'is provided, ,which is swiftly and easily adjustable as to the distance between the shoes, by loosening of the wing nuts 60 and by. the subsequent relative longitudinal adjustment of the bar members 44, 52. Further, it will be observed that at each end of the connector bar of the device, there are ,provided universal connections resulting from the provision of the blocks 38 and: the normally related screws 36, 50; However, while there an unlimited, so to speak, movement of the shoes about horizontal axes extending in a fore-and-aft direction laterally inwardly from the shoes at a short distance from the-shoes, "these being the-axes defined by the screws 50, movement of the. shoes about the axes defined by the screws 36 is limited in a predetermined manner. Considering this movemennwhich may be broadly termed movement of. the :shoes in a fore-and-aft direction, it willbe 'observed th'at on movement of the shoe forwardly from its fu'il line position of Figure 4, said movement of the shoe will be limited to a swinging thereof to but not beyond the forwardly swung dotted line position of the shoe shown in Figurey4, this also being the position shown 'indotted lines for the shoe 1'!) in-Figure 2. The forward 'swingingof the shoe, thus, is limited to an angular travel of '45 degrees about the pivot axis defined by screw 36, due to the fact that the edge 32 moves into alignment with and abuts against the inner end wall. of slot 40,,

when the shoe is swung forwardly to the specified position.

Rearward swinging movement of the shoe about the axis 36 is also limited, but is permitted to a substantially lesser degree than the forward swinging movement about the same axis. This is shown in dotted lines for the shoe 12 in Figure 2, and it will be observed that the rearward swinging movement of each shoe is limited to a 10 degree angular travel about the axis 36, from the normal shoe position shown in full lines in the various figures of the drawing. This is due to the fact that when the shoe is swung rearwardly, the so-called 10 degree edge 30 now moves into alignment with and bears against the inner end of the slot 40.

The forward swinging movement of the shoe is termed an internal rotation, and it will be noted that the shoe has an internal rotation of no more than 45 degrees, and an external rotation, that is a backward swinging movement about the axis 36, of no more than 10 degrees.

There is however, free up-and-down swinging movement of the shoe, that is, a free side-toside ankle motion of the foot wearing the shoe, about the axis 50. This is shown in Figure 3, in which it is shown that the shoe can swing upwardly or downwardly from its full line, normal position in this figure, about the axis 50. The up-and-down swinging movement, of course,,of the shoe is permitted in any position to which the shoe is externally or internally rotated about the axis 36.

It has been found in practice that there is a high degree of functional mobility in the walking splint, and maximum comfort, without, however, loss of the desired corrective action. Weight on the hip is always borne in the protective abductive position and the splint has been found to operate satisfactorily in making corrections in congenital dislocation and dysplasia problems. I

It sometimes happens that a child may have knockknee deformity in addition to the above mentioned hip disorders. However, the incidence of knock-knee deformity in the presence of a hip problem of the character described, that is, a problem for which the splint is intended to be used, is not great. This is mentioned in view of the fact that it has been observed. that a child Wearing the type of splint illustrated and described, may tend-to develop more knock-knee deformity if he already has a deformity of this type. Thus, however, is true as well of other between-shoe splints and is well recognized in. the medical profession. It is known that possible aggravation of any knock-knee deformity may necessarily'result when a child is permitted to walk in a between-shoe splint. It must be accepted, however, that aggravation of this deformity would generally be preferred to the permanent continuance, without attempts at correction, of hip disorders of the character previously described herein.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. 'Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for the correction of hip-disorders, a walking splint of the between-shoe type comprising: a connector bar; a pair of connector blocks pivotally attached to the opposite'ends of the bar for swinging movement about parallel axes extending transversely of the bar substantially in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby to permit up-and down swinging movement of the connector blocks; and a pair of brackets-pivotally connected to andeextending outwardly from the respective blocks and adapted for the attachment of shoes thereto, said brackets pivoting on the connector blocks about axes normal to the first named axes.

2. In a device for the correction of hip disorders, a walking splint of the between-shoe type comprising: a connector bar; a pair of connector blocks pivotally attached to the opposite ends of the bar for swinging movement about parallel axes extending transversely of the bar substantially in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby to permit up-and-down swinging movement of the connector blocks; and a pair of brackets pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from the respective blocks and adapted for the attachment of shoes thereto, said brackets pivoting on the connector blocks about axes normal to the first named axes, said brackets having downwardly ofiset outer end portions fixedly connectable to the shoes.

3. In a device for the correction of hip disorders, :1 walking splint of the between-shoe type comprising: a connector bar; a pair of connector blocks pivotally attached to the opposite ends of the bar for swinging movement about parallel axes extending transversely of the bar substantially in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby to permit up-and-down swinging movement of the connector blocks; and a pair of brackets pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from the respective blocks and adapted for the attachment of shoes thereto, said brackets pivoting on the connector blocks about axes normal to the first named axes, said brackets having inner ends formed with abutments limiting swinging movement of the brackets about the last named axes in opposite directions.

4. In a device for the correction of hip disorders, a walking splint of the between-shoe type comprising: a connector bar; a pair of connector blocks pivotally attached to the opposite ends of the bar for swinging movement about parallel axes extending transversely of the bar substantially in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby to permit up-and-down swinging movement of the connector blocks; and a pair of brackets pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from the respective blocks and adapted for the attachment of shoes thereto, said brackets pivoting on the connector blocks about axes normal to the first named axes, said brackets having inner ends formed with abutments limiting swinging movement of the brackets about the last named axes in opposite directions, said blocks having slots opening upon their outer ends receiving the respective brackets, the inner end walls of the slots forming stops engaging the abutments in opposite extreme positions to which the brackets are swung about the last named axes.

5. In a device for the correction of hip disorders, a walking splint of the between-shoe type comprising: a connector bar; a pair of connector blocks pivotally attached to the opposite ends of the bar for swinging movement about parallel axes extending transversely of the bar substantially in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby to permit up-and-down swinging movement of the connector blocks; and a pair of brackets pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from the respective blocks and adapted for the attachment of shoes thereto, said brackets pivoting on the connector blocks about axes normal to the first named axes, said brackets having inner ends formed with abutments limiting swinging movement of the brackets about the last named axes in opposite directions, said blocks having slots opening upon their outer ends receiving the respective brackets, the inner end walls of the slots forming stops engaging the abutments in opposite extreme positions to which the brackets are swung about the last named axes, said abutments of each bracket comprising side-by-side end edges at the the inner end of each bracket, each end edge of a bracket being at a predetermined angle relative to the longitudinal median line of the bracket for engaging the stop of the connector block, on swinging movement of the bracket an angular distance about the last named pivot axis equal to the angle which the associated abutment edge bears to a line normal to the longitudinal median line of the bracket.

6. In :a device for the correction of hip disorders, a walking splint of the between-shoe type comprising: a connector bar; a pair of connector blocks pivotally attached to the opposite ends of the bar for swinging movement about parallel axes extending transversely of the bar substantially in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby to permit up-and-down swinging movement of the connector blocks; and a pair of brackets pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from the respective blocks and adapted for the attachment of shoes thereto, said brackets pivoting on the connector blocks about axes normal to the first named axes, said brackets having inner ends formed with abutments limiting swinging movement of the brackets about the last named axes in opposite directions, said blocks having slots opening upon their outer ends receiving the respective brackets, the inner end walls of the slots forming stops engaging the abutments in opposite extreme positions to which the brackets are swung about the last named axes, said abutments of each bracket comprising side-by-side end edges at the inner end of each bracket, each end edge of a bracket being at a predetermined angle relative to the longitudinal median line of the bracket for engaging the stop of the connector block, on swinging movement of the bracket an angular distance about the last named pivot axis equal to the angle which the associated abutment edge bears to a line normal to the longitudinal median line of the bracket, one abutment edge of each bracket being at an angle of 10 degrees to said line normal to the longitudinal median line and the other being at an angle of 45 degrees to said line normal to the longitudinal median line, said abutment edges being so disposed as to permit external rotation of the bracket through a maximum of 10 degrees and internal rotation to a maximum of 45 degrees.

7. In a device for the correction of hip disorders, a Walking splint of the between-shoe type comprising: a connector bar; a pair of connector blocks pivotally attached to the opposite ends of the bar for swinging movement about parallel axes extending transversely of the bar substantially in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby to permit up-and-down swinging movement of the connector blocks; and a pair of brackets pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from the respective blocks and adapted for the attachment of shoes thereto, said brackets pivoting on the connector blocks about axes normal to the first named axes, the brackets having outer end portions comprising the parts of the brackets to which said shoes are connectable, the connector blocks being swingable about the first named axes upwardly and downwardly from an intermediate position in which said connector blocks extend outwardly from the connector bar substantially in longitudinal alignment therewith, said outer end portions of the brackets being offset downwardly from the connector blocks and connector bar in said intermediate position of the connector blocks, said first and second named axes being offset laterally inwardly from said outer end portions of the respective brackets.

8. In a device for the correction of hip disorders, a walking splint of the between-shoe type comprising: a connector bar; a pair of connector blocks pivotally attached to the opposite ends of the bar for swinging movement about parallel axes extending transversely of the bar substantially in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby to permit up-and-down swinging movement of the connector blocks; and a pair of brackets pivotally connected to and extending outwardly from the respective blocks and adapted for the attachment of shoes thereto, said brackets pivotally on the connector blocks about axes normal to the first named axes, the brackets having outer end portions comprising the parts of the brackets to which said shoes are connectable, the connector blocks being swingable about the first named axes upwardly and downward- 1y from an intermediate position in which said connector blocks extend outwardly from the connector bar substantially in longitudinal alignment therewith, said outer end portions of the brackets being offset downwardly from the connector blocks and connector bar in said intermediate position of the connector blocks, said first and second named axes being ofiset laterally inwardly from said outer end portions of the respective brackets, said connector blocks, and the full length of the connector bar, being offset wholly from the outer end portions of the brackets in an upward direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,514,870 Israel July 11, 1950 2,585,342 Morgan Feb. 12, 1952 2,588,411 Robinson Mar. 11, 1952 2,630,801 Mest et a1 Mar. 10, 1953 2,804,070 Faulkner Aug. 27, 1957 

